READER FEEDBACK | February 4, 2013

Published February 4, 2013 - 2:18pm Last Updated February 4, 2013 - 2:23pm

McHugh’s right about retiring Bedford school

Re: Ed McHugh’s Jan. 14 column titled “Board should revisit decision to mothball C.P. Allen building”, my daughter will be graduating from Bedford Junior High in June. It is time for Bedford Junior High to be retired. The condition of the school is absolutely dismal.

I cannot understand why parents of Bedford South students would choose to have their children attend an overcrowded school rather than move the C.P. Allen building. Has the opinion of the Basinview families been a deciding factor?

My son is in Grade 3 and when the time comes, I certainly hope that he will not be attending Bedford Junior High at its current location.

Mary Farrow, Bedford

Public transitis the answer, HRM!

Public transit carriers (buses or trains) are better than cars, better for the environment, better and safer for pedestrians and bikers and more profitable for retailers.

A planner came from San Francisco to tell how well it works there. I have seen it in New Zealand and reported what I saw there. Transit is how the world is going.

Gas prices are high and will continue to rise. Car prices are high too. When one looks at the whole picture, transit is the answer. The result would be a healthier atmosphere, a more pleasant and safer downtown and workers coming to work more relaxed and ready to go. For details, see www.perry4people.com.

The situation is this. There are many potential new transit riders. A PR campaign to ignite that desire would help and when these people realized the benefits of leaving the car at home the increase in ridership would (be substantial).

Come on transit and HRM, this is a win-win situation.

Lorne Perry, Dartmouth

The problem isn’t SUVs, it’s how people drive

Re: Angela Mombourquette’s Jan. 28 column, what a coincidence for me! I’ve been complaining for so many years about people driving recklessly in snowy/icy conditions that I’m starting to sound like that proverbial broken record! I don’t know how many times I’ve had sedans, mini-vans, trucks and station wagons passing me on the 103. It really scares me when there’s snow, ice, slush, freezing rain and at times rain, and suddenly, out of nowhere, a young mother with kids in the car comes barrelling past me! I’m driving 20-30 kms under the speed limit in an AWD vehicle with traction control and 17-inch tires, with my four ways flashing!

Reckless driving doesn’t discriminate! I constantly tell my kids that driving an SUV that has AWD doesn’t mean you can drive faster in bad weather. Rather, it means that if you take your time and drive with extreme caution in these conditions, you have an exponentially greater chance of reaching your destination (safely).

The column was an excellent platform to make this one point: SLOW DOWN in these conditions! Instead, you decided to focus on an unsubstantiated quote that is in no way correct! I live in Stillwater Lake and I’ve put 200,000 kms on my SUV in four years, driving around HRM — a great deal of driving.

When these weather conditions hit and our roads deteriorate, I can tell you from experience that rarely do I see any SUVs off the road!

Perhaps you should do some research and call the Insurance Bureau of Canada to get your facts correct! Perhaps you have a dislike for SUVs related to some political or environmental philosophy!

That however, doesn’t preclude you from getting the facts straight or addressing the main point to all drivers, SLOW DOWN or face the possibility of a damaged vehicle, injury or, God forbid, someone’s death!